Clothesline prop



March 27, 1951 oP -r 2,546,578

CLOTHESLINE PROP Filed May 51, 1946 l/VYE/YTUR. 5A M UEL ZOPPELT BY I WWW

ATTOR/VEJS Patented Mar. 27, 1951 Samuel Zeppelt,

Products (30., Cleveland,

Berea, Ohio, assignor to Rep-Loo Ohio, a partnership Application May 31, 1946, Serial No. 673,259 2 Claims. (c1. era-353) This invention relates to an improved form of prop for a clothes-line.

The object of my present invention is to devise a clothes-line prop with a line-engaging means at the upper end thereof, constructed and arranged in such manner that it may be easily applied to the line and readily manipulated so as to cause the line to be trapped and thereby securely held in engagement therewith, and whereby the prop may be easily disengaged from the line.

Another object of my invention is to devise a clothes-line prop which may have the same form and manner of operation as above stated and which may be made from tubular member, as for instance metal tubing.

Other objects will appear from the following description and claims when considered together with the accompanying drawing.

The single view of the accompanying drawing illustrates my present improved form of prop applied to a clothes-line.

It is to be understood that the present form of disclosure is merely for the purpose of illustration and that there might be devised various modifications thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention as herein set forth and claimed.

In my present improved form or device, a single one-piece hollow tubular body, as for instance metal tubing, has a main body portion l and the two flattened upper and lower end portions 2 and 3, respectively. The lower end 3 is pointed for effective engagement in the ground for holding the prop in set position.

I'he upper flattened end portion 2 has a substantially U-shaped slot which comprises the two substantially straight sides 4 and 5 and the intermediate curved part 6 connecting the straight side portions t and 5. The two sides 4 and 5 of the U-shaped slot are substantially parallel to each other and likewise their edges are also substantially straight and parallel to each other. The side 4 of the U-shaped slot is open at its one end, while the other side 5 of the U-shaped slot is closed at its end. That is to say, the U-shaped slot is open at its one end and closed at its other end, as will be clearly understood from the present drawing.

The two sides 4 and 5 of the U-shaped slot are separated by the integral tongue-like part hthe end of which has a curved edge corresponding substantially with the curvature of the opposite edge of the intermediate part 8 of the U-shaped slot. The U-shaped slot is practically inverted.

a one-piece hollow ment of the same with the clothes-line.

The U-shaped slot is or substantially the same width throughout its entire extent and the edges thereof are of smooth continuous form throughout so as to permit ready and effective engage- The U-shaped slot extends at about 4.5 degrees to the axis of prop.

This device may be made of various sizes and the slot may be made of various widths. However, any given width of U-shaped slot may be used effectively with different sizes of clothes-lines.

in actual use, the open end Of the U-shaped slot will be engaged over the clothes-line and the prop will then be manipulated in such manner as to cause the clothes-line to pass along the slot from the open end to the closed end thereof and to bring the clothes-line to position back of the tongue-like part 'i which serves to trap the clothes-line and to hold it trapped so long as the prop bears up against the clothes-line and holds the same in taut condition or substantially so. Even should the clothes-line become slack, it may merely move towards the intermediate curved part 8 of the U-shaped slot and may still be restored to taut condition and position at the rear of the tongue-like part "i by properly positioning the prop upon the ground.

With my present form of clothes-line prop, the danger of the clothes-line becoming slack and becoming disengaged therefrom is reduced to such an extent that this device will give extremely dependable service. Furthermore, this device may be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost and will last indefinitely as there are no attachments or other parts to get out of order. The absence of attachments from my present prop construction greatly facilitates its manuiacture and this is a determining factor in the matter of cost above referred to.

What I claim is:

l. A clothes-line prop having its upper end provided with a substantially U-shaped slot comprising two substantially straight sides and an intermediate curved portion connecting the two sides thereof, the edges of the two sides of said slot being substantially straight and parallel to each other and extending upwardly and backwardly at an angle approximately forty-five degrees to the longitudinal axis of the prop, one end of the slot opening downwardly and outwardly at one edge of the prop and the other end of the slot being closed, the sides of said slot being separated by a rigid tongue-like part extending inwardly and upwardly and having its end edge curved substantially the same as the oppositely V U disposed edge of the intermediate curved part of the U-shaped slot and having its side edges substantially parallel with and equidistant from the edges of the two sides of said U-shaped slot, and said slot being of substantially uniform width throughout, whereby said tongue-like part is adapted to form a trap for the clothes-line after it has entered the open end of the U-shaped slot and passed into the end of the closed side of the U-shaped slot.

2. A clothes-line prop formed from a one-piece v hollow tubular body, the upper part of the tubular body being flattened, said upper flattened portion being provided with a substantially inverted U-shaped slot comprising two substantially straight sides and an intermediate curved portion connecting the two sides thereof, the edges of the two sides of the slot being substantially straight and parallel to each other and extending upwardly and backwardly at an angle approximately forty-five degrees to the longitudinal axis of the prop, one end of the slot opening downwardly and outwardly at one edge of the flattened portion, the other end of the slot being closed, the sides of the U-shaped slot being separated by an integral rigid tongue-like part of the flattened portion extending inwardly and upwardly, said slot being of substantially uniform Width throughout its entire extent, and the end of said tongue-like part being of substantially the same curvature as the oppositely disposed edge of the intermediate part of the U-shaped slot and having its side edges substantially parallel with and equidistant from the edges of the two sides of said U-shaped slot, whereby there is provided a trap for the clothes-line after it has entered the open end of the slot and passed into the lower part of the closed side of the U-shaped slot.

SAMUEL ZOPPELT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,151,695 Lautz Aug. 31, 1915 1,538,900 Loughlin May 26, 1925 1,726,446 McKinney Aug. 27, 1929 2,058,349 Peterson Oct. 20, 1936 2,331,531 Epler Feb. 11, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 202,566 Great Britain Aug, 23, 1923 7,613 Great Britain of 1897 

